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Economic and Environmental Assessment of Two Different Rain Water Harvesting Systems for Agriculture

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  • Luigi Pari

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA)—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

  • Alessandro Suardi

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA)—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

  • Walter Stefanoni

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA)—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

  • Francesco Latterini

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA)—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

  • Nadia Palmieri

    (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria (CREA)—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Increasing aridity and subsequent water scarcity are currently among the major problems of agriculture. Rainwater harvesting could represent a way to tackle this issue, and, as a consequence, scientific research has been more and more focused on such topic. On the other hand, few scientific studies related to economic and environmental assessment of rainwater harvesting systems in agriculture are available. The present study carried out an economic and environmental analysis of two different systems for rainwater harvesting: a typical pond and an innovative flexible water storage system (FWSS). The environmental and economic performance of the systems was compared using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodologies, referring to a functional unit (FU) of 1 m 3 of storable water. The FWSS showed better environmental end economic performance than the pond system, resulting with both lower environmental impacts (17.04 g per m 3 CO 2 vs 28.2 g per m 3 CO 2 ) and lower costs (16.94 € per m 3 vs 20.41 € per m 3 ). Moreover, the pond system was more impactful than the FWSS for all the 17 categories investigated. Therefore, the FWSS can be a suitable solution for water harvesting in agriculture sector, showing interesting features for farmers.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigi Pari & Alessandro Suardi & Walter Stefanoni & Francesco Latterini & Nadia Palmieri, 2021. "Economic and Environmental Assessment of Two Different Rain Water Harvesting Systems for Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3871-:d:527739
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Qinwen Qi & Janeth Marwa & Tulinave Burton Mwamila & Willis Gwenzi & Chicgoua Noubactep, 2019. "Making Rainwater Harvesting a Key Solution for Water Management: The Universality of the Kilimanjaro Concept," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Kumar, Shalander & Ramilan, Thiagarajah & Ramarao, C.A. & Rao, Ch. Srinivasa & Whitbread, Anthony, 2016. "Farm level rainwater harvesting across different agro climatic regions of India: Assessing performance and its determinants," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 55-66.
    3. Xiaobo Xue Romeiko, 2019. "A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Crop Systems Irrigated with the Groundwater and Reclaimed Water in Northern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Nadia Palmieri & Alessandro Suardi & Vincenzo Alfano & Luigi Pari, 2020. "Circular Economy Model: Insights from a Case Study in South Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-11, April.
    5. Luigi Pari & Alessandro Suardi & Walter Stefanoni & Francesco Latterini & Nadia Palmieri, 2020. "Environmental and Economic Assessment of Castor Oil Supply Chain: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Nadia Palmieri & Alessandro Suardi & Luigi Pari, 2020. "Italian Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Eucalyptus Firewood," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, March.
    7. Miguel Brandão & Roland Clift & Llorenç Milà i Canals & Lauren Basson, 2010. "A Life-Cycle Approach to Characterising Environmental and Economic Impacts of Multifunctional Land-Use Systems: An Integrated Assessment in the UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(12), pages 1-30, December.
    8. Nadia Palmieri & Alessandro Suardi & Francesco Latterini & Luigi Pari, 2020. "The Eucalyptus Firewood: Understanding Consumers’ Behaviour and Motivations," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, October.
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    1. Kuanfu Chen & Yujie Tao & Weiwei Shi, 2022. "Recent Advances in Water Harvesting: A Review of Materials, Devices and Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.

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